(Pottery
work with bird motif by Ian Glenny)
CNN follows the trail of South Africa’s
Midlands Meander
This week on Inside Africa, CNN International follows the trail of South Africa’s
Midland Meander in rural KwaZulu-Natal to explore how the province, once
renowned for its agricultural product, is best known now for the community
created by a group of artists and craftsmen.
Potter Ian Glenny remembers how 30 years
ago, a simple idea created South Africa’s longest art trail. He tells CNN: “I
first came through here and it was all dirt, then we drove through and I looked
down in this valley and I thought that’s where I want to live and die … The
whole thing started at the Mill, we had supper there one night and decided we
needed to get together, find a name and start advertising …. It’s grown and
grown. I think it’s about 180 members now.”
Glenny, who is often described as the
Father of the Meander, welcomes customers from all over the world to his
pottery in the Dargle Valley. He says: “I’ve had about a quarter of a million
people through here over the last 40 years. We wanted them to come and
experience a rural area out in the country, visit the potters, see the world being
made … In 1985 when we started the Meander we had no idea how popular it would
become … I just had a vision.”
A collaboration of craftsmen and artists
have helped the Midlands Meander in South Africa continue to grow and diversify
while still maintaining its roots in crafts, ceramists, woodwork and metal
work. Theresa Sizakhela, who works at Shuttleworth Weaving in the valley
praises the work happening in KZN saying: “The Midlands Meander has definitely
contributed to the jobs in the area… we’ve managed to raise up to three
generations of our family through working here.”
Barry Downard, a metal worker and
photographer at the Midlands Meander believes the tourism brought to the area
has a lot to do with its creative community as people are drawn to the beauty
of the region. Speaking to CNN, he says: “As a photographer you drive down the
road … everything is saying to you all the time “photograph me, photograph me” …
It’s off the beaten track without being too far … beautiful climate, incredible
scenery, there’s a great community here as well.”
(Work
by Ardmore Ceramics)
Fee Halsted of Ardmore Ceramics tells
African Voices that the products they make in the small factory in the Midlands
Meander sell to a global audience: “It’s worldwide. We’ve even sold to Alaska …
we sell all over the world … The French adore Ardmore and of course London-
because the world is in London.”
Halsted goes on to explain how the artists
were originally women until men began to see the benefits of the work they did.
“It was interesting how the herd boys, the young boys, thought that the women’s
work was not proper work and then they realised that the woman folk were
earning more than they were … So, you’ve got husbands, wives, sisters, cousins,
and now we enter the second generation, where we have daughters, and of course
the mums or fathers want their kids off their payroll quickly, so they teach
them.”
For the last 26 years, the Midlands Meander
has hosted the Hilton Arts Festival which draws together seasoned and upcoming
artists and crafters. One attendee, Muzi Ndlela, tells CNN: “It’s a very good
opportunity for artists to exhibit because here we meet different people
besides the clients who come to buy, we meet artists who can do some networking
with them and help each other with some ideas to move forward as artists.”
Now, the Midlands Meander is home to a
cross-section of well-established and internationally renowned crafters,
restaurants and hotels. Amanda McCarthy, founder of Groundcover, The Leather
Company says: “The Midlands community I think really is that, it’s a community
and it’s grown up together with people coming to the area and because it’s
grown together people support each other… If one of us does well, we all do
well, and I think that’s what’s built the amazing community that we are part
of.”
Inside
Africa airs on November 12 at 03h30 SAST
For more information visit www.cnn.com/insideafrica
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